Sid Ventura
Apr 19, 2023, 10:56 AM ET
TNT Tropang Giga are a win away from the 2023 PBA Governors' Cup title after a stirring 104-95 come-from-behind Game 5 win over Barangay Ginebra on Wednesday night.
It's the first time in the series that a team has won two straight. The Tropang Giga will try to make it three in a row in Game 6 against a Ginebra team that's not sure if it will have Justin Brownlee at full strength.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson put up a huge triple-double of 32 points, 16 rebounds and ten assists for the Tropang Giga, who can win their first title in two years on Friday. He skipped the post-game press conference after he banged his head late in the game, but later on told reporters he was okay.
"I'm good. Yeah, I'm good," he reassured. "They played a lot more physical today. A lot of bumping and banging. But that's how I grew up playing, you know. So I embrace it, I love it.
"If anything, it's kind of taken away from their focus -- bumping me so much. So keep bumping me. I love it. I'm not tripping."
Mikey Williams, who chipped in 15 points, was left in awe of Hollis-Jefferson, as he gushed: "He's just leveling up everybody, his mental focus, just his leadership. And his NBA mind is something good, he's just a good player, he's a good coach, he's a good player.
"His NBA mind is something great to experience, because in certain situations, the IQ kicks in. We just find the ways to tweak this or fix that, and once you make those subtle adjustments, it just makes the job a lot easier."
Flipping the switch in the second half
For a while, though, it looked as if Ginebra would take control after they took a 61-49 halftime lead.
But in the locker room the Tropang Giga regrouped and came out with a renewed focus, dropping a 25-6 bomb to take a 74-69 lead. They never trailed again.
"I think the message at halftime is that they actually outplayed us in the first half," TNT coach Jojo Lastimosa said. "I said if we want to get back into this game we need to have a little bit more effort than them. And I think in the third quarter the guys started defending really well, executing really well and going back to what we do best."
Hollis-Jefferson felt the team simply became more focused. "The guys knew we needed to stay locked in. We needed to stay resilient, poised. And we needed to be more aggressive, you know, starting that first half. They were out hustling us. They were playing more aggressive like they wanted to win.
"And we just had to take our time, take a deep breath and relax. We had to relax and then, guys just zoned in and were focused. And we started picking up the pressure. We started getting stops and everything fell into place."
Admitting they were distracted in the first half, Williams said: "I feel like everybody had their mind elsewhere, worrying about refs, worrying about this call, that call, instead of just playing the game and focusing about what's in front of us.
"So we just mentally made that shift together, everybody leaning on one another as a unit, and then the coach came and he just said, 'We weathered that storm already, now let's make our run.'"
Brownlee goes down with food poisoning
Ginebra lost its best player in the second half when Justin Brownlee had to leave the game for good with what Tim Cone would later describe as a "severe" case of food poisoning.
He was immediately brought to the hospital for treatment, leaving with just 14 points in 25 minutes.
Cone said Brownlee decided to give it a go at the start of the game, but in hindsight, he felt they should have sent him to the hospital even before the game got underway.
"He had severe food poisoning and he tried to go through the first half and did a pretty good job, but by halftime he was out," Cone explained.
"And you could see it when he started the second half, he just didn't have anything. He was throwing up at halftime and he was throwing up on the bench when we took him out.
"And now we've taken him to the hospital, maybe something we probably should have done before the game even started, probably should have had him in the hospital. But he wanted to come and try, and so he tried, but it wasn't enough."
Christian Standhardinger -- whose monstrous 29-point, 13-rebound effort went to waste -- said playing without Brownlee was:" very tough, very tough. Very, very tough. I think we did a great job of trying to stay in the game."
Standhardinger compared Brownlee's situation to another famous player who was downed by food poisoning in Game 5 of a finals, except that the other player's team won.
"I truly believe that Brownlee is the GOAT, even though we lost, but now he had his flu game too, so now he's for sure the GOAT," added Standhardinger. "And if we can get him back next game, that will help a lot."
Hollis-Jefferson wished Brownlee well, adding: "I'm not going to speak on the basketball side of things. I just want him to feel better as a human.
"I don't wish food poisoning on no one. Again, I love his game. I think he's a phenomenal person. So I just want him to feel better. Take care of his body, take care of whatever he needs to."
Lastimosa didn't now until after the game that Brownlee had food poisoning.
"It didn't show actually," said the TNT coach. "He was playing well. Although the obvious sign was that he was just tired the whole game. I think every shot that he took, it took everything from him. So you know, I hope he's fine."
What will Game 6 bring?
Once again this season, the Tropang Giga find themselves ahead 3-2 in a PBA finals.
But this time, they hope to close it out. They were in a similar position in the Philippine Cup, but proceeded to drop the last two games to San Miguel Beermen.
This weighs heavily on Lastimosa's mind, as he stated: "I wish I can flip the script. But it's easier said than done going up against Ginebra, especially going up against Tim, going up against Brownlee.
"You have to understand that coming in here, we have nothing to lose. These guys are just playing. And if we're given an opportunity to grab it and then beat them, we will. But they're still the favorites. Even if we're up 3-2, we're not the favorites. And we know how hard it takes to win over them."
Also expecting Brownlee to return, Lastimosa said: "I don't think he's gonaa miss that sixth game or if there's a seventh game I think he's gonna be there. He's also a warrior so we're counting everyone to be present on Friday."
Veteran Jayson Castro, who is at the tail end of an illustrious career, is hoping to avoid a repeat of the Philippine Cup Finals.
"Hopefully hindi mangyari iyan kasi this team deserves to win a championship. Gusto namin magchampion," he said. "And of course Ginebra gusto magchampion pero para sa amin talagang pinagtrabaho namin. Sana makuha namin kasi sila lagi na lang champion."
Cone isn't sure about Brownlee's availability, but he's hoping for the best.
"Now it's twice to beat. So we're gonna go out and hopefully Justin will be better after being in the hospital, we'll see," said the Ginebra coach. "Hopefully within 48 hours he can get back and get ready to play."
Brownlee or no Brownlee, Hollis-Jefferson is ready to go as he added: "If he can play the next game, let's do it. But if not, man, at the end of the day, basketball is something that brings a lot of people together.
"But it's not what keeps people together. And it's about yourself, like taking care of yourself and feeling good.
"So I'm going to pray for him and send my well wishes to him."
